Monday 28 January 2019 09:19, UK
Two New Orleans Saints season-ticket holders have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to either reverse the result of their side's controversial loss to the Los Angeles Rams, or to force a rematch to be scheduled.
Supporters Tommy Badeaux and Candis Lambert want NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to implement a rule covering "extraordinarily unfair acts" following the Saints' defeat to the Rams in the NFC Championship game.
They believe remedies should include a reversal of the game's result, or the rescheduling of a game in its entirety or from the point when the act occurred.
A hearing has been provisionally set for six days before the Super Bowl, which will be contested between the Rams and the New England Patriots.
The lawsuit comes as the Saints believe they were denied an opportunity to beat the Rams in normal time after officials chose not to throw a flag after Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman hit Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis before the ball arrived on a third-and-10 pass.
If a penalty was called, the Saints could have run the clock down before kicking a 31-yard field goal as time expired, which would have won them the game and sent them to the Super Bowl.
Instead, the Saints had to kick a field goal with one minute and 41 seconds remaining, leaving time for the Rams to tie the game and force overtime - which they won.
Saints owner Gayle Benson says she will "aggressively pursue changes in NFL policy", while head coach Sean Payton says he was told by Alberto Riveron, the NFL's senior vice-president of officiating, that the call was incorrect.
